In this week’s box:
Beets: Ace, Chioggia, and/or GoldenBraising Greens Mix: Tokyo Bekana, Amara & TatsoiCherry Tomato Mix *descriptions in 7/20 newsletterGarlicHead Lettuce or Lettuce Bouquets: asst. varietiesPeppers: Sweet *descriptions in 8/3 newsletterPotatoes: Yukon GoldShallotsTomatoes: last of the season! (unless they aren't)
and perhaps one of the following:Bean MixBroccoli: Belstar and/or ImperialEggplant: Orient Express (thin, dark purple, Asian-style), Orient Charm (thin, neon purple, Asian-style) or Listada De Gandia (purple/white striped, Italian-style)Red Okra: Burgundy and Candle FireSummer Squash: 8 Ball (round, green), Golden Glory (yellow zucchini), Slik Pik (lt. yellow, long), Zephyr (yellow & light green)
For those with the Herb option: sweet basil, rosemary & lemon balm
Beets: Ace, Chioggia, and/or Golden
Braising Greens Mix: Tokyo Bekana, Amara & Tatsoi
Cherry Tomato Mix *descriptions in 7/20 newsletter
Garlic
Head Lettuce or Lettuce Bouquets: asst. varieties
Peppers: Sweet *descriptions in 8/3 newsletter
Potatoes: Yukon Gold
Shallots
Tomatoes: last of the season! (unless they aren't)
and perhaps one of the following:
Bean Mix
Broccoli: Belstar and/or Imperial
Eggplant: Orient Express (thin, dark purple, Asian-style), Orient Charm (thin, neon purple, Asian-style) or Listada De Gandia (purple/white striped, Italian-style)
Red Okra: Burgundy and Candle Fire
Summer Squash: 8 Ball (round, green), Golden Glory (yellow zucchini), Slik Pik (lt. yellow, long), Zephyr (yellow & light green)
For those with the Herb option: sweet basil, rosemary & lemon balm
What’s up on the farm?
Precipitation in the past week: 0.80"
Even though all the signs have been pointing that way, it is still hard to believe we are now in October and next week is the final CSA delivery of 2021. You would think someone who has as much contact with nature as I do would no longer be surprised with the progression through the seasons, but I am, every single time. So here we are, just one week from our first average frost date with many of our warm-season crops still reaching for the waning sun. It isn't unusual that we still have some of those crops at this point in the year, but it is unusual that we have pretty much all of them. So even though we keep suggesting that this is the final delivery for "xyz" crop, we just keep sending them out! And we will do so with all of them that are available, until the very end...also known as next week.
We spent much of the past week cultivating fall crops, cleaning garlic and sowing another couple of high tunnel beds with arugula and salad mix. There are just 2 more beds to plant, both of them are currently in basil and we just can't bring ourselves to tear it out yet but it's day's are numbered.
We worked like crazy last Wednesday to mow, disc and seed oats in a large area in our El Sur plot that had been potatoes, garlic and squash. This will serve as a cover crop to keep the soil in place over the winter and be in better condition for next year's plantings. It made for a long evening, but we got it all done just in time for an overnight rain. It was exactly what we and the oats needed and they are already starting to germinate.
Upcoming dates of note:
Precipitation in the past week: 0.80"
Even though all the signs have been pointing that way, it is still hard to believe we are now in October and next week is the final CSA delivery of 2021. You would think someone who has as much contact with nature as I do would no longer be surprised with the progression through the seasons, but I am, every single time.
So here we are, just one week from our first average frost date with many of our warm-season crops still reaching for the waning sun. It isn't unusual that we still have some of those crops at this point in the year, but it is unusual that we have pretty much all of them. So even though we keep suggesting that this is the final delivery for "xyz" crop, we just keep sending them out! And we will do so with all of them that are available, until the very end...also known as next week.
Upcoming dates of note:
Tuesday, Oct 12th: final CSA delivery of the 2020 season
Saturday, Oct 30: final weekly Saturday VegEmail delivery
Tuesday, Nov 9: bi-weekly VegEmail deliveries begin. We plan to continue these deliveries on Tuesdays, every 2 weeks until the end of April.
Member Spotlight: Dr. Sandy SeemanI invited Sandy to be our final Spotlight member this season because she is a longtime member and a truly dedicated CSA produce user, even planning her vacations around her CSA shares. But also because she is a naturopathic doctor and I find her knowledge and perspective of food & health fascinating and insightful.
I am
Dr. Sandy Seeman and I live with my teenage son Sage and my partner Gered, a
self employed plumber and contractor. I am a naturopathic doctor, a
practitioner that uses diet and lifestyle to help people prevent and recover
from illnesses and live their best life. Naturopathic doctors believe in
the body’s ability to heal itself and we see our role as investigating to
determine the cause of an individuals discomfort and teaching them how to
removing obstacles to healing. We have been members of Blue Gate for
years now and this year decided on a double CSA as we kept running out of
vegetables last year! We also wanted to support local farmers as much as
we can with our food dollars. I love that my food travels such a short
distance and that the healthy soil that Blue Gate nurtured becomes part of my
body and microbiome. My favorite part of the CSA is the commitment to
eating a plant focused diet and the fresh flavors we get each week that help us
do that.
We also have a garden at our home, which is also my office, and
that inspires my clients and shows my commitment to walking my talk and doing
our part to live and walk lightly on the planet. What I also love is that
my garden is a wonderful joy and hobby but there isn’t the pressure for it to
provide a significant portion of our food needs. If something doesn’t
grow or work out (as it does each year) I know I will be getting my food needs
met by the CSA. It also allows us to preserve anything extra from our
garden for the winter months. I can also get expert advice from Jill
about my garden too.
The CSA has challenged me to try new recipes and be
inventive with a double portion this year. Early in the spring when we
get much of the same we began making a blended whole vegetable green drink that
has become a favorite pre dinner snack. It has varied throughout the
seasons of spring, summer and now fall. What sparked it is doing more
learning of wild foraging and realizing that many of the “weeds” we were
clearing out of the garden as a nuisance were incredibly nutritious and it was
silly for us to be putting them on our compost pile and purchasing spinach or
lettuce to eat instead. We put thistles, lambs quarters, plantain,
dandelions, purslane, and others once we identified them and knew they were
edible. We have utilized kale, chard, and other greens from the CSA in
the green drink as well. It is such a great replenishment and has done
wonders for our energy and immunity this year as well as kept our garden
cleaner than ever! We have made big salads, lots of ratatouille this
summer, and another favorite is a ginger peanut sauce that goes over stir fry
or salads.
Basic
Green Drink recipe for 2-3
1
lemon, cut into pieces
2
large handfuls of greens of choice
1
cucumber, carrot, tomato, fennel beet or other veggie
1
small handful of dates
1/2
cup frozen fruit - blueberries, strawberries, pineapple are favorites
Small
handful fresh herbs - fennel, basil, rosemary, mint
Water
to cover and blend
Ginger
Peanut Sauce for salads, stir fry
3-4
tbsp peanut butter (other nut butters or tahini would work too)
3-4
tbsp oil like avocado or coconut
1
tsp or to taste grated ginger
1
tsp or to taste minced garlic
Honey
to taste
Salt
to taste
A little detail on your produce this week:
Member Spotlight: Dr. Sandy Seeman
I invited Sandy to be our final Spotlight member this season because she is a longtime member and a truly dedicated CSA produce user, even planning her vacations around her CSA shares. But also because she is a naturopathic doctor and I find her knowledge and perspective of food & health fascinating and insightful.
We have been members of Blue Gate for years now and this year decided on a double CSA as we kept running out of vegetables last year! We also wanted to support local farmers as much as we can with our food dollars. I love that my food travels such a short distance and that the healthy soil that Blue Gate nurtured becomes part of my body and microbiome. My favorite part of the CSA is the commitment to eating a plant focused diet and the fresh flavors we get each week that help us do that.
We also have a garden at our home, which is also my office, and that inspires my clients and shows my commitment to walking my talk and doing our part to live and walk lightly on the planet. What I also love is that my garden is a wonderful joy and hobby but there isn’t the pressure for it to provide a significant portion of our food needs. If something doesn’t grow or work out (as it does each year) I know I will be getting my food needs met by the CSA. It also allows us to preserve anything extra from our garden for the winter months. I can also get expert advice from Jill about my garden too.
The CSA has challenged me to try new recipes and be
inventive with a double portion this year. Early in the spring when we
get much of the same we began making a blended whole vegetable green drink that
has become a favorite pre dinner snack. It has varied throughout the
seasons of spring, summer and now fall. What sparked it is doing more
learning of wild foraging and realizing that many of the “weeds” we were
clearing out of the garden as a nuisance were incredibly nutritious and it was
silly for us to be putting them on our compost pile and purchasing spinach or
lettuce to eat instead. We put thistles, lambs quarters, plantain,
dandelions, purslane, and others once we identified them and knew they were
edible. We have utilized kale, chard, and other greens from the CSA in
the green drink as well. It is such a great replenishment and has done
wonders for our energy and immunity this year as well as kept our garden
cleaner than ever! We have made big salads, lots of ratatouille this
summer, and another favorite is a ginger peanut sauce that goes over stir fry
or salads.
Basic
Green Drink recipe for 2-3
1 lemon, cut into pieces
2 large handfuls of greens of choice
1 cucumber, carrot, tomato, fennel beet or other veggie
1 small handful of dates
1/2 cup frozen fruit - blueberries, strawberries, pineapple are favorites
Small handful fresh herbs - fennel, basil, rosemary, mint
Water to cover and blend
Ginger
Peanut Sauce for salads, stir fry
3-4 tbsp peanut butter (other nut butters or tahini would work too)
3-4 tbsp oil like avocado or coconut
1 tsp or to taste grated ginger
1 tsp or to taste minced garlic
Honey to taste
Salt to taste
1 lemon, cut into pieces
2 large handfuls of greens of choice
1 cucumber, carrot, tomato, fennel beet or other veggie
1 small handful of dates
1/2 cup frozen fruit - blueberries, strawberries, pineapple are favorites
Small handful fresh herbs - fennel, basil, rosemary, mint
Water to cover and blend
3-4 tbsp peanut butter (other nut butters or tahini would work too)
3-4 tbsp oil like avocado or coconut
1 tsp or to taste grated ginger
1 tsp or to taste minced garlic
Honey to taste
Salt to taste
A little detail on your produce this week:
Beans: Fresh beans are an easy "store." Just leave them in their plastic bag and keep them in the produce drawer. Can last up to 2 weeks.
Beets- Cut off greens, leaving an inch of stem. Refrigerate the unwashed greens in a closed plastic bag and use with your chard mix as beets and chard are closely related. Store the beet roots, unwashed, with the rootlets (or “tails”) attached, in a plastic bag in the crisper bin of your refrigerator. They will keep for several weeks, but their sweetness diminishes with time. Just before cooking, scrub beets well and remove any scraggly leaves and rootlets. If your recipe calls for raw beets, peel them with a knife or vegetable peeler, then grate or cut according to your needs baby/young beets usually don't need to be peeled
Broccoli: Wrap loosely in a plastic bag and keep it in the vegetable bin of your refrigerator for up to a week. Immediately before cooking, soak head down, in cold, salted water (1 teaspoon salt to a 8 cups of water) for 5 minutes. Any [organic] critters will float to the top where you can rescue them or allow them to suffer a salty death. (Note: If soaked in salt water before storing, it will become too rubbery and wilted to enjoy.) Slice the juicy, edible stems and use them wherever florets are called for. Peel particularly thick skin before using.
Eggplant: Eggplant prefers to be kept at about 50° F, which is warmer than most refrigerators and cooler than most kitchen counters. Wrap unwashed eggplant in a towel (not in plastic) to absorb any moisture and keep it in the vegetable bin of your refrigerator. Used within a week, it should still be fresh and mild.
Beans: Fresh beans are an easy "store." Just leave them in their plastic bag and keep them in the produce drawer. Can last up to 2 weeks.
Beets- Cut off greens, leaving an inch of stem. Refrigerate the unwashed greens in a closed plastic bag and use with your chard mix as beets and chard are closely related. Store the beet roots, unwashed, with the rootlets (or “tails”) attached, in a plastic bag in the crisper bin of your refrigerator. They will keep for several weeks, but their sweetness diminishes with time. Just before cooking, scrub beets well and remove any scraggly leaves and rootlets. If your recipe calls for raw beets, peel them with a knife or vegetable peeler, then grate or cut according to your needs baby/young beets usually don't need to be peeled
Broccoli: Wrap loosely in a plastic bag and keep it in the vegetable bin of your refrigerator for up to a week. Immediately before cooking, soak head down, in cold, salted water (1 teaspoon salt to a 8 cups of water) for 5 minutes. Any [organic] critters will float to the top where you can rescue them or allow them to suffer a salty death. (Note: If soaked in salt water before storing, it will become too rubbery and wilted to enjoy.) Slice the juicy, edible stems and use them wherever florets are called for. Peel particularly thick skin before using.
Eggplant: Eggplant prefers to be kept at about 50° F, which is warmer than most refrigerators and cooler than most kitchen counters. Wrap unwashed eggplant in a towel (not in plastic) to absorb any moisture and keep it in the vegetable bin of your refrigerator. Used within a week, it should still be fresh and mild.
Many people like to peel, salt, and drain their eggplant to draw out any bitter flavor; however, bitterness develops only in eggplant that has been stored for a while, so with farm-fresh specimens this is generally not necessary. Many recipes call for salting in order to make the vegetable less watery and more absorbent—much like draining tofu. Salting is not an essential step, but it can greatly enhance the taste and texture of your dish and is well worth the extra effort. The shape of an eggplant determines how it is best prepared. Slice a straight, narrow eggplant into rounds for grilling or broiling, and cut a rounded, bulbous eggplant into cubes for stews and stir-fries.
Okra: These lovely, dark red, horn-shaped vegetables are a warm weather treat. Extremely cold sensitive, store in their plastic bag in the warmest part of your fridge, or place the plastic bag in a small paper sack and store in the crisper drawer and use within the week. Traditional southerners will cut into rounds, bread in cornmeal and fry, but our favorite version is our dear friend Annie's method, "All I do is rinse off the pods and lay them in a saucepan with a little water in the bottom. Ten to fifteen minutes is all it takes...twenty if the pods are really big and "woody" feeling. I put salt on them and eat as finger food. It reminds me of young sweet corn."
Peppers: Place whole, unwashed peppers in a plastic bag, seal, and refrigerate for a week or more. Rinse peppers just before use. For sweet peppers, cut around the stem with a small knife and lift out the core. Slice down the side to open it up and then cut out the inner membranes. Store unused portions in a sealed bag or container in the refrigerator.
Shallots: the grown-up cousins of onions, shallots have a rich, mild flavor that really shines in soups, sauces, salad dressings, vegetables and egg dishes. Store in a cool, dark place with good air circulation.
Okra: These lovely, dark red, horn-shaped vegetables are a warm weather treat. Extremely cold sensitive, store in their plastic bag in the warmest part of your fridge, or place the plastic bag in a small paper sack and store in the crisper drawer and use within the week. Traditional southerners will cut into rounds, bread in cornmeal and fry, but our favorite version is our dear friend Annie's method, "All I do is rinse off the pods and lay them in a saucepan with a little water in the bottom. Ten to fifteen minutes is all it takes...twenty if the pods are really big and "woody" feeling. I put salt on them and eat as finger food. It reminds me of young sweet corn."
Peppers: Place whole, unwashed peppers in a plastic bag, seal, and refrigerate for a week or more. Rinse peppers just before use. For sweet peppers, cut around the stem with a small knife and lift out the core. Slice down the side to open it up and then cut out the inner membranes. Store unused portions in a sealed bag or container in the refrigerator.
Shallots: the grown-up cousins of onions, shallots have a rich, mild flavor that really shines in soups, sauces, salad dressings, vegetables and egg dishes. Store in a cool, dark place with good air circulation.
Summer Squash/Zucchini: Refrigerate unwashed zucchini and summer squash for up to a week and a half in a perforated plastic bag or in a sealed plastic container lined with a kitchen towel.
Tomatoes: prefer to reside on your counter and not in the refrigerator unless they have been sliced.
All of your GREENS will keep best if stored in a plastic bag, with the top folded over and placed in the produce drawer of your refrigerator. Large leaf greens can benefit by being wrapped in a linen or cotton towel inside the bag if excess moisture is a concern.
** NOTE: You will notice over the course of the season that some box contents listed above say "Perhaps one of the following..." These are items that we can’t harvest in sufficient quantities for the whole CSA to receive at one time. We do track who gets what and we will do our best to ensure that everyone eventually receives each item. On some items this may take several weeks, so please be patient.
Is a weekly newsletter not enough for you? Do you want to read more about our life on the farm and see more pictures? Follow us on Facebook at Blue Gate Farm or on Instagram at bluegatefarmfresh. CSA members can also connect with other BGF members to share recipes or ask questions on our FB community page at Blue Gate Farm Community.
That's about it for now. If you have any questions or comments, be sure to let us know.Best from the farm,Jill & Sean (and the whole BGF crew)
** NOTE: You will notice over the course of the season that some box contents listed above say "Perhaps one of the following..." These are items that we can’t harvest in sufficient quantities for the whole CSA to receive at one time. We do track who gets what and we will do our best to ensure that everyone eventually receives each item. On some items this may take several weeks, so please be patient.
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| Indigo, Luci & Sky |
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